Tassilo Thierbach

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Tassilo Thierbach
Tassilo Thierbach, 1982
Personal information
Born(1956-05-21)21 May 1956
Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany
Died19 April 2025(2025-04-19) (aged 68)
Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany
Height5 ft 6.5 in (169 cm)
Figure skating career
CountryEast Germany
Retired1984
Medal record
Representing  East Germany
Pairs' Figure skating
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place1984 OttawaPairs
Silver medal – second place1983 HelsinkiPairs
Gold medal – first place1982 CopenhagenPairs
Silver medal – second place1981 HartfordPairs
Bronze medal – third place1979 ViennaPairs
European Championships
Silver medal – second place1984 BudapestPairs
Gold medal – first place1983 DortmundPairs
Gold medal – first place1982 LyonPairs
Bronze medal – third place1979 ZagrebPairs
Sabine Baeß and Tassilo Thierbach in Karl-Marx-Stadt, 1979
Sabine Baeß and Tassilo Thierbach in Karl-Marx-Stadt, 1983

Tassilo Thierbach (21 May 1956 – 19 April 2025) was a German pair skater. With partner Sabine Baeß, he was the 1982 World champion and a two-time European champion (1982, 1983).

Biography

Baeß and Thierbach were coached by Irene Salzmann in Karl-Marx-Stadt (today Chemnitz) and represented the club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt. They were the only figure skating pair representing East Germany to win the World or European championships.

All together, Thierbach skated with five partners: Romy Kermer (silver medallist at the Olympic Games with Rolf Österreich in 1976); Antje Heck; Petra Ronge; Sylvia Walter; and finally Sabine Baeß.

Baeß and Thierbach won their first European Championship, a bronze, in 1977 and their first World Championship medal, a bronze, in 1979.[1] A mistake in the short program took them out of any chance of a medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid however, and they came in fifth overall.[1]

They won both Europeans and Worlds in 1982, defeating the Soviet Union,[1] on the basis of huge throws and consistency. They defended their European titles in 1983 but despite two clean programs at that year's World Championships were beaten by Russian newcomers Elena Valova and Oleg Vassiliev, whom they had just defeated at the Europeans and led after the short program here. This was a controversial result to many people as Elena put her hands down on a throw.

In 1980 he suffered a meniscus injury to his knee, for which surgery was necessary. For this reason Baeß and Thierbach had to miss the Nationals and the Europeans in 1981. They came in fourth place at the Sarajevo Olympics.[1]

From 1977 to 1989, he was a Stasi informer under the codename "Gehrhard".[2]

Thierbach ran the company Automaten Großaufstellung Tassilo Thierbach GmbH in Chemnitz. He also worked as figure skating coach in collaboration with Ingo Steuer in Chemnitz.

Thierbach died in Chemnitz on 19 April 2025, at the age of 68.[3]

Results

With Baeß

Event 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84
Winter Olympics6th4th
World Championships5th3rd4th2nd1st2nd3rd
European Championships5th4th3rd4th1st1st2nd
East German Championships3rd3rd2nd1st1st1st1st1st
Skate America1st

With Heck

  • 1973 East German Championships: Bronze medalist with Antje Heck

References

  1. Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
  2. Welt-Online: Eiskunstlauf-Stasifall sorgt für Erklärungsnot
  3. Kuhn, Henriette (24 April 2025). "Chemnitzer Eiskunstläufer Tassilo Thierbach ist tot: Er holte WM-Gold für die DDR". www.saechsische.de (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2025.

Sources